Good Times
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: Even though he is an absolute pest and drives you up the wall, you still love your son more than you've ever loved anyone before. Matau and Eefera, father and son.


**I was in the mood for some Matau story-ness. Dunno why.**

**Disclaimer: Anyone you don't recognize as canon belongs to me. Nicole belongs to **_**Arya**_**. Siahta belongs to **_**Sylla Shadowfrost**_**. Matau and all other related characters belong to LEGO Enterprises. All songs belong to their respective artists.**

**Summary: Even though he is an absolute pest and drives you up the wall, you still love your son more than you've ever loved anyone before. Matau and Eefera, father and son.**

**Good Times   
By: Saya Moonshadow**

_i. gone_

You had told yourself it was a bad idea to be in such a casual relationship with her, but at the time, it hadn't mattered. Now, however, it does. She is a traveling Toa, not a resident of Metru Nui, nor does she want to be. She tells you this straight up front, directly after chewing you out about the consequences of your actions.

It's not like she didn't participate. It takes two, after all. But even still, Tazuna Voya blames YOU for her condition. She will not get rid of it, she says, but you will never see her or the product of your actions ever again.

You don't know whether to be pleased or upset as her small skiff pulls out of the harbor and sails away without a backward glance. You always thought you'd be a good father, and you're good with kids. Nicole, Onewa and Natay's daughter, and Jing, Nuju and Siahta's son, both absolutely adore you. They're both young, only a few years old, but they still think you're the greatest thing ever.

It does not help when, ten months later, Vakama announces that Nokama is pregnant. It is even worse when Whenua's wife dies in childbirth and he names the child after her.

What will happen to Tazuna? Will she, too, die in childbirth and leave her - YOUR - child all alone in the world?

"_I really miss your hair in my face   
And the way your innocence tastes   
And I think you should know this   
You deserve much better than me."_

X x X

_ii. introduction_

Even though five years have passed, you still remember every moment of the day Tazuna left. Every day, you look out over the harbor and in your mind's eye see her skiff pulling away and leaving you.

It shocks you when that same skiff pulls into the Le-Metru harbor and Tazuna steps out, followed by a small child of five years old. She does not smile at you, but that doesn't matter. Without her telling you, you know that this is your son. He has the same red eyes that you yourself possess, and they are just as filled with mischief as yours are.

"This is Eefera," Tazuna says, catching your attention. "As I'm sure you've guessed, he is your son. I am passing full custody to you. He has become too much for me to handle, and I can't keep him with me any longer after what happened at the last island we visited."

You barely hear her. You are too busy focusing on the mischief-eyes young boy, with his violent shade of violet coloring and his Miru. He grins up at you and says, "Hi Dad."

Even before Tazuna explains to you all his personality quirks and everything he needs and such, you know that you and Eefera are going to be the best of friends.

"_Have some of column "A"   
Try all of column "B"   
I'm in the mood to help you, dude   
You ain't never had a friend like me!"_

X x X

_iii. dinner_

You quickly learn that Eefera has no semblance of table manners. Sure, he's a cute kid, but his manners are ATROCIOUS. The second you set food on the table, he's picked it up and hurled it into your face. And then he LAUGHS.

It's WAR.

The food is immediately thrown back, and Eefera squeals loudly, ducking under the table and throwing a carrot, which bounces off your forehead. Soon, the kitchen is a virtual battlefield, with the two of you yelling and laughing and throwing food at each other.

"SURRENDER, SHORTY!" you shout as a glob of what was once mashed potatoes hits his shoulder.

"YOU SURRENDER, OLD MAN!" he yells back, and another carrot catches you neatly on the nose.

Finally, you both collapse in a heap, still laughing almost to the point of tears. You grab your son and noogie him until he pleads for mercy, and then make him help you clean the kitchen up.

"_Well, pampers melt in a Maytag dryer   
Crayons go up one drawer higher   
Rewind Barney for the fifteenth time   
Breakfast six, naps at nine   
There's bubble gum in the baby's hair   
Sweet potatoes in my lazy chair  
Been crazy all day long   
And it's only Monday, Mr. Mom!"_

X x X

_iv. nightmares_

Eefera has nightmares sometimes.

He has nightmares of the ocean rising up to eat him and Tazuna whole, and you immediately know that he and his mother were caught in more than one violent storm at sea. For the first time, you feel a rush of anger at Tazuna for putting him through this. Her lifestyle was a constantly moving one, but she had no right to scare her own son like this.

You hold your crying son to your chest, making soothing noises and rubbing his back as comfortingly as you can. After a few minutes, he calms down enough to tell you about his dream. In this dream, you were in the boat as well. And when the storm came, you and Mom were both eaten by the waves, leaving him all alone in the boat. And then another wave came and ate both him and the boat in one mouthful.

He starts tearing up again, but you quickly inform him that it was merely a dream, nothing more. Dreams can't hurt you, you tell him.

You spend the night in your son's bed, still holding him as he clutches an old toy of yours to his chest tightly. His bed is very small, being the bed of a five-year-old, but you don't care. Just so long as Eefera knows he is safe with you, you are fine.

"_This is the last night you'll spend alone   
Look me in the eyes so I know you know   
I'm everywhere you want me to be   
The last night you'll spend alone   
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go   
I'm everything you need me to be."_

X x X

_v. friends_

A year has passed since Tazuna dumped Eefera on you, and it is the happiest year of your life. Eefera's nightmares have stopped months ago, the Matoran love him, and best of all, he gets along with your teammates' kids.

You sometimes wonder if you should separate him and that Jingo of Nuju and Siahta's. He looks up to that Nuju-clone, and anything that Jing says MUST be right. You wonder even more if he should be banned from being friends with Whenua's daughter Aki, the one who was named for her late mother. Aki is not the most cheerful of children, and you worry that her negative attitude will maybe bring back Eefera's nightmares (probably an unreasonable worry, but you ARE his father).

Nicole is nothing but kind to Eefera, but that's expected. Where she got her politeness from, you will never know because both Onewa and Natay insult each other so frequently it's a wonder they ever managed to fall in love.

But the child whose relationship with Eefera intrigues you the most is Vakama and Nokama's five-year-old daughter, Mataub.

Her name is spelled similarly to yours for a reason - you named her. She is a year younger than Eefera, and was born in the middle of your depression over Tazuna's rejection. Children are not named until an official naming ceremony, but Vakama and Nokama had to go on a mission before Mataub's. They had entrusted her to you, and you oh-so-kindly decided to solve any arguments about names for them, and by the time they got back from their mission, she would answer to nothing else. You rather like the name you chose for her. It means "moonlight" in the ancient language. Mataub. Maw-tob. Moonlight.

She is a happy and sweet child, the complete opposite of Aki. Eefera has a certain obsession with Mataub, you know. She is all he ever talks about anymore. Her element clashes with Eefera's Thunder - she is a Toa of Water, but Eefera fails to care, as Vakama and Nokama failed to care about their own clashing elements.

You smile as Eefera lets Mataub start a wrestling match with him and gallantly allows her to win. He will grow up to be a ladies' man, as good with the girls as you yourself. Maybe. In looks, he is definitely Tazuna, but in personality, he is all you.

"_You run around   
I run around   
We're all gonna run, run, run around!"_

X x X

_vi. jealousy_

You do not like the way Aki looks at Eefera, nor the way she looks at Mataub. Her green eyes glaze over when they rest upon Eefera, and her mouth curves up into a smile as she blushes, but when she sees Mataub, those same eyes narrow and that same mouth turns down into a scowl.

You know why. It is because Eefera is in love with Mataub. Perhaps "in love" is too strong to describe a six-year-old's crush, but it's true. Aki is very jealous of Eefera's crush on Mataub, who is, of course, perfectly clueless about it all. She does not know Eefera likes her, nor does she know of Aki's jealousy.

Seeing Eefera and Mataub together does not remind you of yourself and Tazuna, to your surprise. Tazuna has virtually ceased to exist in your life as anything but a memory that surfaces every now and again. They remind you of the typical scene of first crush.

You close your eyes and lean back next to Vakama as the two of you continue to keep an eye on your respective children. Vakama says, "I wonder what will happen to them someday."

You crack an eye open. "Why? Been havin' dream-visions again?"

"No," he said. "Just a feeling. I think they're meant."

You frown and close your open eye. "If he's gotta choose now, then I s'pose he's chosen good."

"_The way that you walk  
It's just the way that you talk  
Like it ain't no thing  
And every single day is just a fling  
Then the morning comes."_

X x X

_vii. extended leave_

Eefera frowns as you explain it to him. He's now old enough to come with you on missions, as he is now eight years old. After all, Jing was going on missions with his parents when he was only about eight as well.

The catch, though? It's a long one. You'll be gone a few years. He's not happy, but you know he will come along. He wants to see some action and prove himself.

His crush on Mataub has not waned in the least. If anything, it has grown stronger. You watch with some amusement as he haltingly explains to her and Aki, and you laugh at the fierce blush on his face when the little Water Toa throws herself on him and hugs him hard. Aki's eyes narrow, as you expect, but she merely huffs and looks away.

Eefera manages to disentangle himself from Mataub and holds a hand out to Aki. "Well, seeya in a few years, Gukko Butt," he grins. Aki glares at him, but shakes his hand.

You beckon, and he goes to you. Then you two board the ship and are gone, with Eefera waving to Mataub, who is jumping up and down frantically on the shore.

"_I love you   
I've loved you all along   
And I miss you   
Been far away for far too long   
I keep dreaming you'll be with me   
And you'll never go   
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore."_

X x X

_viii. homecoming_

"If Artahka had had to put up with you as long as I have, he would have married Karzahni instead of founding the Toa Order," you snap at your sixteen-year-old son, who grins at you good-naturedly. Even though you are sore about the bucket of sea water he has just poured on your head, you understand why he is so hyper.

In just a few hours' time, the ship will dock in Metru Nui, and you will be home. It's been eight years.

Too slow for either of your liking, the boat docks, and with a whoop of joy, Eefera catapults off the deck railing and onto the dock. Almost immediately, a blue blur hits him in the chest, and he coughs, staggering back. You draw your aero-slicers, but relax when you realize what has just happened.

A teasing grin splits your face at the blush your son is currently wearing, for with her arms wrapped firmly around his middle is none other than Mataub, now even more beautiful than her mother. Eefera's crush on her still has not waned. And now, the sight of Mataub so pretty, so happy to see him, laughing and crying with joy, only deepens his attraction to her.

Not wanting to interrupt, you calmly disembark and smile at Vakama, who has come with his daughter to greet you. He shakes your hand and loudly welcomes you home, and you laugh.

"_Does it feel like home?   
Does it feel like home?   
Will I ever know when it feels like home?"_

X x X

_ix. grown up_

You and Eefera have had a food fight for the first time in eight years, since before you left for that long mission. However, this time it was not just you and him. Mataub is there as well, having been asked to have dinner at your house. She laughed the entire time, throwing food like a pro and making you suspect that this might not be such an irregular thing at her own house.

The doorbell rings, and you get up to answer it, even though you are covered in food. It is Aki, just as you thought. She is also very pretty, and still just as dark as she used to be as a child. She raises a brow while saying hello and asking if Eefera is in. Against your better judgment, you allow her in, calling Eefera's name.

Aki walks ahead of you, then stops at the kitchen doorway, an expression of horror on her pretty face. You peek over your shoulder, and the reason for her behavior is apparent.

Eefera and Mataub are innocent kids, but the wrestling they are doing right now is very intimate looking, something shared not just by friends, but by absolute best friends and more than that, an unbreakable bond.

Aki turns away from the scene, neither having noticed her. You are shocked to see that tears are glistening in her eyes, and you grimace. It seems Eefera isn't the only one who never gave up on an old crush.

"I'll come back tomorrow," she whispers, and then she is gone without another word.

"Hey Dad, who was at the door?" Eefera calls to you, pinning Mataub to the floor by her arms.

For the first time, you lie to your son, for his happiness. "No one," you say. "Probably a fun-prank."

He rolls his eyes and goes back to tickling Mataub.

And you realize that your little boy is no longer so little. The smile on your face is vaguely sad as you begin to clean the food off the walls of your house. It had to happen sooner or later.

"_I tried so hard and got so far   
But in the end, it doesn't even matter   
I had to fall and lose it all   
But in the end, it doesn't even matter."_

X x X

_x. pride_

Your son spends all his time with Vakama's daughter, to your amusement and Vakama's consternation. The firespitter is very protective of his little girl, and only the fact that he knows Eefera is keeping him from throttling him. Not that he'd be able to, of course. Your boy is quite the accomplished Toa now.

You stop what you are doing as you realize that. Eefera IS quite the accomplished Toa now. Your Eefera, the best mistake that ever happened to you. It doesn't matter what Tazuna told you almost seventeen years ago when she told you she was pregnant. If anything, you are GLAD it's your fault. If it's your fault that this wonderful young being has come into existence, then you could die happy.

It's not just fatherly love you hold for your son anymore. You really and truly are as proud of him as any father could ever be.

"_Then it's up the stairs and off to be and my little boy says,   
'I haven't had my story yet.'   
And everything weighin' on my mind disappears just like that   
When he lifts his head off the pillow and says,  
'I love you, Dad'."_

X x X

_xi. joining_

You join your son on the podium in the courtyard of the Temple. He is shaking, nervous, but at the same time, looks elated. You smile, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. Today is a big day, after all. It is a day you yourself never had, which only strengthens your resolve to make it as special as possible for him.

Music, happy, joyous, music starts, and you and Eefera both smile. You flick Jing on the ear to wake him up, and he gives a snort and stands to attention. It just doesn't do for the Best Man to be asleep during the ceremony, after all. And then the gates of the Temple open up, and Vakama steps in, leading by the arm his daughter Mataub. Mataub as you've never seen her before, and you understand right then and there why Eefera loves her so much.

She truly is beautiful, more than worthy of your son.

Vakama leads her to the podium, and the smile she bestows upon Eefera when she sees him is of the utmost adoration. Surprisingly, Aki smiles at her as well from her position as Maid of Honor, and not so surprisingly, Nicole does as well. Your son and Vakama's daughter take their places, and Dume begins to read.

"We gather today in this, the Great Temple, to observe the joining of two families," he says, his voice ringing out over the assembled masses who have all turned out for this event. You smirk as you see Onewa wiping furiously at his eyes, finally grabbing the tissue box out of Natay's hands and going through them faster than you and Eefera once went through groceries.

The ceremony proceeds with Dume leading it, but you stop listening. You are too busy concentrating on the looks on your son's and daughter-in-law's faces. They see nothing but each other.

And when Dume gives the word, the kiss they share is deep and passionate, much more so than you thought they were capable of. Someone in the audience cheers, and soon, everyone else is cheering as well.

You take a step back, and another and another, until your back is pressing against the iron fence that surrounds the Temple courtyard, the cool metal digging into you, and you close your eyes, a smile on your face.

"So, you're still around, eh?"

Your eyes shoot open. You know that voice, and sure enough, it's HER, the one you made the best mistake of your life with.

"T-Tazuna," you breathe. She laughs, leaning against the fence behind a small tree, perfectly concealed. "What, you think I'd miss my own son's wedding?"

"No," you say. "Well, yes, actually. We haven't heard from you in sixteen long-years, after all."

"I've been busy." she says, making you frown. "Alright, Tazuna, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to see my son's wedding," she replies. "Is that so hard to believe? Trust me, I never intended on meeting YOU again. I just wanted to watch and then head out without anyone noticing me."

You shake your head in exasperation. "Eefera would probably love to see you again."

She waves a hand. "He's too busy with his little bride to bother with his old mother right now. And I'm on a tight schedule." She gives you a light punch to the shoulder, green eyes glittering. "I'll be in touch, airhead."

A smile touches your mouth. "You do that."

And then she is gone, faster and more silently than a moonshadow.

Your smile grows and you look up to the sky. It's clear blue, not a cloud in sight. The sun shines down on you, warm and happy.

Maybe you don't love Tazuna in the way you used to, but that doesn't stop your naturally friendly nature from reaching out to her with the hand of friendship.

"Hey Dad! Come join the party!"

You look over at Eefera and grin widely, bounding over to him and clapping him on the back. Dancing has now started, and you share a dance with your new daughter-in-law, joking and making her laugh before your son comes to claim her again after a quick dance with Aki.

Instead of joining in anymore though, you sit down at the nearest table and watch Eefera, unable to wipe the proud smile off your face, or to stop the happy tears that bead in your eyes.

Even though he is an absolute pest and drives you up the wall, you still love your son more than you've ever loved anyone before.

"_So take these words   
And sing out loud   
Because everyone is forgiven now   
Because tonight's the night the world begins again."_

X x X

**END.**

X x X

**AN: So, did you like that? Somewhat spoilers for **_**The Road Not Taken**_**, but then again, nothing that wasn't already apparent or hadn't been hinted at heavily. -shrugs-**

**Matau would make an excellent dad, I think, despite his...**_**odd**_** nature X3 -snortgiggle-**

**Review please!**


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